Yemen has officially informed Canada’s Nexen that it has rejected the firm’s application for an extension to its production-sharing agreement (PSA) at Block 14 in Masila, which will expire on 17 December this year, according to a 22 November company release.

Nexen first entered Yemen in 1987 and producing more than 1.1 billion barrels of oil. Total production at the Block 14 Masila field peaked in 2003 at 225,000 barrels a day (b/d) of oil.

Nexen has one other PSA in Yemen, for the Block 51, which currently produces about 6,000 to 8,000 b/d. This PSA expires in 2023.

“We are currently evaluating alternatives with respect to Block 51 and future activities in the country,” says the release.

The company has been seeking an extension to its Masila PSA, but as Yemen’s largest producing acreage, the block is also coveted by state-owned Safer Exploration & Production Operations Company (MEED 21:11:11).